Dr. Alessio Ponzio’s contract is about to end. What could this mean for the future of history education in Saskatchewan?

“Be what the world needs.” These are the words plastered across the bottom of every web page related to the University of Saskatchewan. It’s a phrase meant to inspire students to pursue programs that will fill the gaps in the world to make it a better place. One would think that an institution that values reconciliation, works towards decolonization, and pushes students to be the people who respond to the world’s most pressing needs, should be at the forefront of building a community where minority voices are empowered.

In history, we commonly discuss the notion that history has always been written by the victors. Those with the most privileged,  powerful position get to dictate what is part of the story and what is not. Anyone who does not belong to what is considered “mainstream” is ignored and silenced – people like Dr. Alessio Ponzio. 

A highly educated individual,  he finished his graduate studies in Rome and  went on to study at various institutions, including Princeton, Wellesley College, the University of Michigan and Leibniz Institute of European History in Mainz. A holder of two PhDs, he’s also written various articles and two books – one in Italian and another in English. 

Most students in the Department of History have  taken several classes with Dr. Ponzio or  have at least heard of him. He is an incredibly caring, outspoken and extremely accomplished scholar and instructor at the University of Saskatchewan. Students have described him as inspiring, passionate and dedicated. 

His research interests lie in Fascism, Modern European History and the History of Gender and Sexuality. Recently, he has also been exploring the intersectionality of these interests, writing several books and articles on Fascist youth education and conflicts surrounding sexuality in postwar Europe. 

Dr. Ponzio’s accomplishments go beyond the academic stage, however. In the classroom, he was recognized as an Outstanding Graduate Student Instructor in 2019 and  a Canadian Armed Forces Educator in 2023. He has also been nominated for four Teaching Excellence Awards at the University of Saskatchewan in the last two years. 

Dr. Ponzio’s passion for unearthing the minority voices is evident in his work as a Queer activist. Not only was he the founder of the first LGBT+ History Month in Italy over three years ago, he has played a monumental role in Queer advocacy at the local, national and international level. 

Anyone who has ever been in a position of advocacy knows the sheer amount of courage and vulnerability it takes to step forward and voice the stories of those who have been silenced. From the university’s perspective, we are highly privileged to have someone as courageous and knowledgeable as Dr. Ponzio on campus. 

With all of this in mind, it is baffling to me that the College of Arts and Science will not  renew his contract this June. By the fall term of next year, Dr. Ponzio will no longer be able to continue his work here. Why? I’ve been pondering that question since I heard of the situation. 

Upon emailing the College of Arts and Science, all I got as an explanation was that there is not enough funding to allow his position to continue and that Dr. Ponzio was only accepted on a five-year contract. However, knowing Dr. Ponzio’s ground-breaking work for the campus, the response just didn’t sit right with me. 

Further investigation demonstrated that Dr. Ponzio’s supposed departure from the university was not a decision of his own. In fact, the entire Department of History wants him to stay. The chair of the Department of History has been making requests to the Dean’s office for the past two years for the renewal of Dr. Ponzio’s position. Several students at the U of S and leading scholars across the continent have also expressed their support for  Dr. Ponzio’s position at the university.

While the College of Arts and Science continues to push the message that there is a lack of funding, the university must also consider what they would be losing with Dr. Ponzio’s forced departure. 

According to Dr. Ponzio, history has demonstrated time and time again that “institutions can be easily turned against minorities.” It seems as though this is exactly what is happening here. There is no doubt that the Queer community has long been persecuted and silenced as a generally misunderstood minority around the world. Towards the end of 2023, Dr. Airini, the Provost of the university, wrote on the USask Spotlight webpage that the university strives to “reflect on discrimination that members of the queer community have experienced and continue to face today.” He added that doing this “is how we become the university the world needs.” How does getting in the way of Dr. Ponzio’s future with USask  promote these supposed goals? 

Should his position be discontinued, the losses won’t stop there. The university would also be losing the only professor on campus who teaches a course solely dedicated to the history of the Holocaust. Holocaust history has been deemed valuable enough to be added to the mandatory curriculum for Saskatchewan schools beginning in 2025. Because Holocaust education has never been mandated before in the province, there are very few who are educated enough on the topic to be teaching it. 

It is odd that while Saskatchewan’s Ministry of Education deems the topic as important enough to mandate, the University of Saskatchewan has no trouble effectively removing opportunities for students to engage with this period in history. Dr. Ponzio worked hard to put together the Holocaust History course, and according to him, “This class has never been taught at the University of Saskatchewan, and without me, it will disappear.”  

The Holocaust is a story of various minority groups being systematically targeted through extreme stereotypes, generalizations and discrimination. It is a story of pain and power, but it also speaks to the hope, solidarity, and resilience of humanity. There is not a single person on Earth who cannot learn something from the history of the Holocaust. Its history teaches students about the dangers of dehumanization through generalization and the damaging impacts of discrimination based on narratives which have been distorted by society’s most powerful. It is the ultimate lesson in the importance of addressing the world’s inequities and the persistent persecution of minority groups. Its teachings go beyond the field of history, impacting anyone who pursues a career that deals with people. 

The only local professor who is knowledgeable enough about the Holocaust to teach students these lessons is right here on our campus, and yet his contract is not being renewed. Given  how important his position is, the discontinuation of it seems so out of place.  The given response that “the university does not have enough money to pay [Dr.Ponzio’s] salary,” doesn’t seem sufficient.

When a minority group voices their opinion, there are bound to be people in the mainstream who feel uncomfortable. This is normal. Since the decolonization movement of the mid-20th century, the world has become more aware of these international hierarchies that monopolize the way narratives are told. Part of processing and moving towards decolonization is sitting in the discomfort of addressing these power imbalances that have ruled our lives for as long as we can remember. 

When courageous souls, such as Dr. Ponzio, step forward and actively shape narratives,  real change happens. Canadians have been on a journey towards decolonization for over a decade , but many have still not grasped what the term really entails. Only when we are open and willing to shed  light on the narratives that have been buried in the dark historically can we begin to move towards an equity-driven world. 

In his time with the University of Saskatchewan, Dr. Ponzio has embodied what it means to “be what the world needs.” As a proud, openly gay man and the first in his working-class family to enter university, Dr. Ponzio’s work is mainly driven by his personal goal to open spaces for all.  “I want all my students to know that anything is possible,” he emphatically states. “I feel as though I am failing not only my students but also myself with my future here on the line because it shows them that this isn’t true.”

Pictured here is Dr. Ponzio speaking at the Hess Seminar held at the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum in January 2024. The seminar is held yearly for academics around the world involved in Holocaust-related education. Photo taken by Joel Mason-Gaines.